Vieira LM, Bocalini DS, dos Santos CPC, et al. European Geriatric Medicine. 2026. DOI:10.1007/s41999-026-01579-8.
Brazil
Twenty-four weeks of supervised bodyweight interval training increased the probability of transition to a less frail state and improved knee-extension strength, 5-times sit-to-stand and gait speed; body composition changed little.
Small single-country trial; retrospective trial registration; baseline differences in body mass/appendicular muscle mass and frailty score; very wide confidence intervals around transition odds; limited generalisability to cognitive impairment, depression or major social barriers; no hard outcomes such as hospitalisation or mortality.
60 frail older adults in primary health care; mean age 74.0 years; 72.4% women
A low-equipment, function-focused exercise model may improve frailty status in primary care without requiring gym machinery. This is clinically interesting for scalable frailty prevention, but the effect size should not be treated as definitive.